Since ancient times, the development and evolution of human beings can not be separated from the emergence, development and evolution of information symbols. In the early days of human society, our ancestors were forced by the invention of recording people and events to create the earliest recording methods, such as knotting, rock painting and sculpture. After all these recording methods were invented, some recorded symbols or images were fixed. For example, some geometric patterns and simple descriptions have been created and given special meanings. Because of their importance, some inscriptions have entered the human belief system and become bright signs that shine on the soul.

Sand table scene of making pottery pots in primitive society

When it comes to depicting symbols, we have to mention Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a writing carved on tortoise shells and animal bones in Shang Dynasty, which is used to record or explain divination. As we all know, Oracle Bone Inscriptions was mostly unearthed in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province, and was first discovered by Wang Yu 1898, a drinker in imperial academy in the Qing Dynasty. In the later excavation and research, it is found that Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a fairly mature writing system. As for the age of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, it is now roughly determined as the period from Pan Geng in Shang Dynasty to the subjugation of the country in Yin and Zhou Dynasties, that is, from the middle of the 4th century BC 1 1 century BC. According to incomplete statistics, more than 4,500 characters have been found in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and about 2,000 characters have been successfully interpreted. Of course, this data will definitely change with the development of archaeological research and artificial intelligence.

Qijia culture engraving jar

Many people know that there are almost 3,000 to 5,000 different words for ordinary articles or books (because when writing articles or books, there will be a lot of frequently used words, such as "Zhi, Hu, Zhe, Ye" in ancient books and "Zhe, Le, Guo" in modern books, etc.). As early as 3000 years ago in Shang Dynasty, we had such a mature writing system, which is undoubtedly a very important discovery.

oracle bone script

Melon is sweet and vinegar is sour. Everything in the world has to go through a process of germination, embryonic form, development and perfection, especially Oracle Bone Inscriptions, an information symbol created by human beings. With regard to Oracle bone inscriptions, many experts and scholars firmly believe that Oracle bone inscriptions will definitely not appear out of thin air, and before that, Oracle bone inscriptions will definitely have a long historical development process.

Qijia culture engraving jar

"Shangshu Duoshi" said: "Only Yin ancestors have books, Xia Ming." It can be seen from this record that the ancestors of the founders of the Shang Dynasty had their own characters as early as the demise of the Xia Dynasty, and they already had perfect written rules and regulations. Therefore, when the Shang Dynasty destroyed the Xia Dynasty, the writers of the Shang Dynasty recorded this great event in the canon and recorded the life history of the Yin Dynasty and the Xia Dynasty. However, up to now, although the archaeological community has been tirelessly pursuing exploration, it has not found enough evidence to prove this statement.

cliff painting

There are three reasons. First of all, due to the limitation of Oracle Bone Inscriptions decoding level, some words on Oracle Bone Inscriptions cannot be decrypted; Second, after more than 3,000 years, the capital of Shang Dynasty has been destroyed by war and vicissitudes, so it is difficult for archaeologists to find ancient books recording historical events of Shang Dynasty from archaeological excavations. Thirdly, according to the past history, these books were probably burned by the King of Zhou after the destruction of the Shang Dynasty.

Qijia Cultural Description Symbol

Of course, the above three points belong to speculation, but archaeological excavations have found that there were many "descriptive words" on a large number of prehistoric archaeological sites long before Oracle Bone Inscriptions appeared. There is no doubt that these symbols of prehistoric civilization are closely related to Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Whether these symbols can provide a context for the development of China's writing system is still under exploration. Undoubtedly, the flash of these "depicting characters" makes us vaguely see some grass snake gray lines in the continuous development of Chinese characters. Then we will mainly explore the symbols that appear on various cultural relics in these prehistoric civilizations.

Rock paintings carved on stones by modern people.

Many artifacts of prehistoric civilization will be painted, engraved or piled with some special graphics. And many of these characters are not extracted from natural objects, but elaborate artistic creation. Among these geometric patterns, polygonal star patterns have attracted special attention. At first, our ancestors may only create simple fork symbols, interwoven straight lines or curves, but later, more regular geometric triangles and four angles appeared, from which more angles were derived. However, whether it is a fork symbol, a straight line symbol, a curve symbol, a triangle symbol, a four-corner symbol, a five-corner symbol, a hexagonal symbol, an octagonal symbol or a twelve-corner symbol, it will be given different meanings to different people in different regions and become a very important member of the symbol system.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions carved in stone by modern people.

In Neolithic pottery, we saw a special polygonal decorative pattern, some carved and some painted, with octagonal star patterns painted on it. The composition of octagonal star pattern is peculiar, rigorous, rigorous, symmetrical and balanced. Even from the perspective of modern people, it seems subtle and elegant. So it puzzles many researchers. The octagonal star pattern first appeared 8,000 years ago, and it left its mark in many cultures. It is a mystery that people can't guess.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions has deciphered the word "phoenix" on the upper right.

Of course, among the numerous octagonal cultural relics, the most mysterious and striking are these two jade articles found at Lingjiatan site in Hanshan, Anhui. Many Neolithic jade articles have been unearthed in this site, two of which are engraved with octagonal stars. One is a flaky jade plate with a big circle in the center, a small circle in the circle and an octagonal star pattern in the center. The other is an eagle ornament. There is a circle engraved on the eagle chest, and an octagonal star is engraved in the circle.

Jia Ling tan ba jiao xing jade ornaments

Lingjiatan octagonal eagle-shaped jade ornaments

Lingjiatan octagonal eagle-shaped jade ornaments have attracted much attention. This jade is considered as a symbol of the sun god of Lingjiatan people. Its shape is an eagle bird flying with its wings spread, and its wings have become the shape of a beast's head, adding a lot of strength. In myths and legends, the sunny bird flies from east to west with the sun. This jade carving seems to be an example of the myth of Yang Bird.

Lingjiatan octagonal eagle-shaped jade ornaments

Of course, the most mysterious thing on this jade is the octagonal star pattern in the center of the jade. Some people say that the octagonal star pattern in this cultural relic is a symbol of the sun according to the principle of yang bird and yin toad. As a symbol of the sun god, this octagonal star is also an ancient Aztec in America. Moreover, the Aztecs in ancient America also had octagonal eyes, which shows that the octagonal pattern is really not a simple pattern.

Majiayao culture painted pottery ornamentation

It is also said that this octagonal star pattern represents the early eight diagrams, and some ethnic minorities call the eight diagrams "octagonal", and their costumes are also decorated with the same octagonal star pattern as prehistoric times. Some people also say that the octagonal jade plate is an ancient "Hutuluo Book". There is also a view that the octagonal pattern was used by the ancients to mark the position when observing the sun. What's more, it is said that the octagonal pattern is the symbol of the original loom. Also, with the development of modern physics, scientists have found that the smallest molecular structure of things we can see is a regular tetrahedron; The smallest molecular structure of invisible things is also a regular tetrahedron. The four corners that appear and the four corners that loom make a * * * eight corners. ...

Molecular structure model

The author thinks that the octagonal figure is a scientific expression of human understanding and differentiation in the early stage, and it is a relatively complete world outlook system from the world to the earth. The establishment of this system has influenced future generations and today. You should know the words "in all directions" and "in all directions". Their origin is rooted in the octagonal star ornaments, which should be the space-time coordinates of human positioning.

Rock paintings of prehistoric culture

So no matter how you look at it, the octagonal star pattern is an important information revealed in ancient times. Although people think they have understood its meaning, its explanation is often so tit-for-tat that it remains a mystery. Maybe it really has something to do with solar observation, but it's not time to draw a conclusion.

Qijia culture pottery face